Baselworld is only a few weeks away. Getting the latest news is easy, Click Here for info on how to join the Watchuseek.com newsletter list. Follow our team for updates featuring event coverage, new product unveilings, watch industry news & more!

We picked up our samsung plasma (PN60E8000) in the summer, we had a very difficult time deciding (between samsung and pana), but the EVO kit was one of a few deciding factors. My only major complaint is in regards to 3D, it's not worth if for movies IMO but gaming is so worth it. Unfortunately, HDMI 1.3 doesn't do 3d justice for gaming (720p60, 1080p24 don't even try), and this was the majority reason we settled with the samsung for 3d. Samsung used to offer a work around on the D-series plasma models, checkerboard mode, but it seems to only available on the LED-LCD ES series last year.

Hoping that the evo kit either, upgrades to HDMI 2.0 or added back checkerboard mode (or alternatives) to plasma

Anyone have any thoughts, or seen any info regarding evo and 3d?

I previously had a c8000 plasma & remember it having the checkerboard mode but i don't know of any workaround samsung themselves ever had for c or d.
Do you have additional info on this "workaround", whats it do & or How to do it ?
Are you talking about the nvidia 3d glasses with dongle trick to run 1080 @30p or was it 60p ?
Thx for reminding me of cause it was 1 of the reasons i was mad with 3d gaming being restricted to 720 to get full 60p.

Also, i think "samsung" is waiting for most of the 2012 evo kit tv's to be sold out/off before releasing more then 1 version of evo kit.

Too bad Samsung could have found a way just to replace that whole board with the latest one. Samsung could have had a door instead of a sticker on the back of the HDTV. Unless those cables are soldered on that board?

Is the Evolution Kit port just as fast as the actual processor socket that the native processor is installed on? That's hard to believe.

I wouldn't worry about the speed. It seems pretty clear that the evolution kit essentially *IS* the board. It has a CPU, a GPU, and apparently even a network port -- without having the thing in front of me it is hard to say anything with certainty, but it looks like it more or less completely replaces your existing board and just uses the port for communications with the panel and the ports. As for speed... your graphics card in your PC is an add-on card, and you don't see people arguing that its slower than an onboard card. As long as the system bus is fast enough, there is no reason you should assume any performance issue related to the fact that its an add-on card vs. being soldered to the original board.

If you want to worry about something, worry about the horrible support Samsung has given the 2012 TVs on every front from the gesture and voice "control" to the remarkably lackluster app selection and slower than slow SmartHub interface that takes forever to do simple things like installing updates. Worry about that continuing into 2013 if you want something to worry abo9ut.

"No, the Smart Evolution Kit will have no effect on picture quality or picture setting options. It is purely a processor for the Smart Hub platform, so it speeds up things and adds the new layout and features of the Smart Hub.

The only difference it will make in regards to picture quality, according to Samsung, is that it has a slightly better web video processor. But this will not affect typical watching - only when going through the browser or Smart Hub.

I have just had this re-confirmed by Samsung.

But it sounds like a crap situation. I haven't heard anything about this in the Nordic. Can you post a link to where you have been posting?"

"No, the Smart Evolution Kit will have no effect on picture quality or picture setting options. It is purely a processor for the Smart Hub platform, so it speeds up things and adds the new layout and features of the Smart Hub.

The only difference it will make in regards to picture quality, according to Samsung, is that it has a slightly better web video processor. But this will not affect typical watching - only when going through the browser or Smart Hub.

I have just had this re-confirmed by Samsung.

But it sounds like a crap situation. I haven't heard anything about this in the Nordic. Can you post a link to where you have been posting?"

If they are increasing the GPU then there may in fact be an improvement in 3D. Doesn't seem worth it for just the Smart Hub update.... most of the so called "smart" features I can't even use because I'm in Canada.

I think theres really no way to know until someone has it in their hands and hooked up to their TV. For $299 MSRP, you will probably be able to pick this thing up for $250, which is fairly reasonable if it does more than smarthub.

the EVO kit so far is a SCAM, i can't believe that samsung thinks ppl are that desperate & stupid to be fooled into buying what they could have fixed through FW update.
I know it has a quad core but what about the dual core in the TV? why is that processing being wasted? it's like samsung says HEY guys you can buy a 2nd pair of runners but they'll be both left foot runners. WTF !!! it's like getting an engine upgrade from 4 cylinder to 8 but they dissable 2 cylinders,you already paid for it so WTF why waste it. man this upsets me.............................................
I BET 70-90% of people that bought these TV's for the evo kit upgrade did it so they could get better PQ, not some BS apps they never use, i have a computer, game console & cellphone, why do i need theese stupid apps on my TV? Just make sure i can connect my other devices to the TV.SIMPLE THANKYOU ! sumsung scumbags

That will be in the 2014 Evo kit when they realise the smart hub sucks.
As we won't want to buy a new Evo kit for 4 years just for a redesign of what we have already.
2013 = smart hub refresh
2014 = home synch
2015 = home synch refresh
2016 = ???

That will be in the 2014 Evo kit when they realise the smart hub sucks.
As we won't want to buy a new Evo kit for 4 years just for a redesign of what we have already.
2013 = smart hub refresh
2014 = home synch
2015 = home synch refresh
2016 = ???

Software can always be pushed over the wire, a quad core and 4G ram might be a little difficult to fit into the wire. $300 for double the CPU power + 4x the RAM is not bad at all, most likely this can be had for $250sh. The alternative to this is to buy a new TV and dish out 10x that, so I'm not sure why people complain. If you don't use the Smart features, then you shouldn't have bought a smart TV in the first place.
If this kit fixes the voice and gesture issues, if the new smart remote is better than the old one and external keyboard can be used not just for web browsing but applications as well, I mean all these plus the juiced up speed are well worth the money.

Software can always be pushed over the wire, a quad core and 4G ram might be a little difficult to fit into the wire. $300 for double the CPU power + 4x the RAM is not bad at all, most likely this can be had for $250sh. The alternative to this is to buy a new TV and dish out 10x that, so I'm not sure why people complain. If you don't use the Smart features, then you shouldn't have bought a smart TV in the first place.
If this kit fixes the voice and gesture issues, if the new smart remote is better than the old one and external keyboard can be used not just for web browsing but applications as well, I mean all these plus the juiced up speed are well worth the money.

The question is will Samsung optimize the 2013 Smart Hub software and web browser for the quad core processor and 4 gigs of ram. They didn't do that for the 2012 Smart Hub software with a dual core processor and 1 gig of ram. I think that also has to do with needing to connect to Samsung's server in addition to connecting to the internet. Too many people on Samsung's server can also slow down performance even with having a fast internet connection right?

Its also funny how Samsung says their new 2013 Smart Hub will run with a dual core processor. Which makes me wonder how much faster the quad core processor and 4 gigs of ram will be if its not optimized for the kit.

I do expect a few improvements as per my previous post, I guess we'll have to wait and see. I got the 8000 plasma and for what I can tell this is a great TV right out of the box, not perfect though. You link to the 2013 7100 model which apparently won't get the quad core, however the 2013 8000 does get it.

Interesting. IMO this kit should be a high priority for Samsung TV division, based on its success (or failure) the TV sales can skyrocket or sink. Personally I believe the marketing campaign has been a little overhyped in terms of making people believe that the kit will pretty much make the whole 2012 TV work just like the new 2013 one. While it sounds great I really doubt that will happen, especially when it comes to PQ and other features non Smart Hub related.
As for speed, in my case the present internet speed is pretty good, I can stream HD video online with no issues or hiccups. One thing I have had issues with is streaming videos from my laptop or the Samsing Note II via All-share. It is choppy and I hope the added processing power will fix this. Also the use of the external keyboard/mouse pad, I sure hope they can extend that to apps as well, not sure if the kit in itself can actually do that, or if it is a software issue.
On top of these, people need to understand that a quad core on a kit like this is not to be compared with a quadcore running on a laptop machine (or desktop), to put it that way. I have the Samsung Note II Smart Phone with quad core CPU, however it is noticeably slower than my quad core laptop. We're talking a different class CPU all together, still quad core but with limitations caused mostly by the size (and in Smart Phone case, the power as well).

Interesting. IMO this kit should be a high priority for Samsung TV division, based on its success (or failure) the TV sales can skyrocket or sink. Personally I believe the marketing campaign has been a little overhyped in terms of making people believe that the kit will pretty much make the whole 2012 TV work just like the new 2013 one. While it sounds great I really doubt that will happen, especially when it comes to PQ and other features non Smart Hub related.
As for speed, in my case the present internet speed is pretty good, I can stream HD video online with no issues or hiccups. One thing I have had issues with is streaming videos from my laptop or the Samsing Note II via All-share. It is choppy and I hope the added processing power will fix this. Also the use of the external keyboard/mouse pad, I sure hope they can extend that to apps as well, not sure if the kit in itself can actually do that, or if it is a software issue.
On top of these, people need to understand that a quad core on a kit like this is not to be compared with a quadcore running on a laptop machine (or desktop), to put it that way. I have the Samsung Note II Smart Phone with quad core CPU, however it is noticeably slower than my quad core laptop. We're talking a different class CPU all together, still quad core but with limitations caused mostly by the size (and in Smart Phone case, the power as well).

Well if the quad core isn't going to be that much faster than the dual core why bother with the evolution kit unless Samsung optimizes it for the quad core? How much faster do you think the quad core will be over the dual core? Would web pages load and scroll in seconds?

The more I read about the Smart Evolution Kit, the more convinced I am that I will not buy one. I could care less about a faster Smart Hub experience. I've never used the Smart Hub on my ES8000. I've never used the voice control. And, I've never used the gesture control. Why would I want to pay $300 for upgraded performance on features I don't use and probably never will? What I want is a TV with minimal clouding, no vertical banding, good screen uniformity, and no corner flashlights. In other words, everything it appears the 2013 model delivers at the same price I paid for mine in 2012, but that I didn't get. That was my expectation when I shelled out $3,500 for a 65" ES8000. After two exchanges, I ended up having to down-size to a 60" version in order to get a panel I could live with. Give me an evo kit that addresses the deficiencies mentioned above and truly "upgrades" my ES8000 to the same performance level of the F8000, and I'm all in. That was the promise Samsung loudly made to buyers of their 2012 ES series TV's, and that I purchased in good faith. I'm more than happy to pay for your evo kit, just make sure you give me what you said you were going to...

I read somewhere about a successful class action lawsuit against Samsung for deceptive marketing (or something along those lines) with regards to a "Full HD 3D" label they put on some of their TV's that apparently, were not. It looks like they didn't learn from that mistake.

The more I read about the Smart Evolution Kit, the more convinced I am that I will not buy one. I could care less about a faster Smart Hub experience. I've never used the Smart Hub on my ES8000. I've never used the voice control. And, I've never used the gesture control. Why would I want to pay $300 for upgraded performance on features I don't use and probably never will? What I want is a TV with minimal clouding, no vertical banding, good screen uniformity, and no corner flashlights. In other words, everything it appears the 2013 model delivers at the same price I paid for mine in 2012, but that I didn't get. That was my expectation when I shelled out $3,500 for a 65" ES8000. After two exchanges, I ended up having to down-size to a 60" version in order to get a panel I could live with. Give me an evo kit that addresses the deficiencies mentioned above and truly "upgrades" my ES8000 to the same performance level of the F8000, and I'm all in. That was the promise Samsung loudly made to buyers of their 2012 ES series TV's, and that I purchased in good faith. I'm more than happy to pay for your evo kit, just make sure you give me what you said you were going to...

I read somewhere about a successful class action lawsuit against Samsung for deceptive marketing (or something along those lines) with regards to a "Full HD 3D" label they put on some of their TV's that apparently, were not. It looks like they didn't learn from that mistake.

based on that youtube video of the samsung ad, i would say their version of improved picture quality only means full HD for VOD (video on demand). in another word, due to the more powerful processing quad core, you can now stream full HD and decode it on the fly.

if that's the case for what they meant for improved picture quality, then shame on them.

if they can do micro dimming and eliminate clouding, i don't think it's too far of a stretch to implement software screen analysis for screen uniformity and do an auto picture adjustment to compensate for any banding, clouding, or flash lighting. but maybe it's a pipe dream.

I know I bought my ES7500 thinking I would get a bump in PQ and the same PQ menu as the 2013 sets and if all the evolution kit did was just make the smart hub and web browser run faster but not as fast as a tablet or a PC then I will be mad and not sure I would buy it. Not even sure I would get another Smart TV until they matched a desktop PC's performance.